United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $277.30 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

United Community Banks stock opened at $34.23 on Tuesday. United Community Banks has a 12-month low of $24.09 and a 12-month high of $36.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.06.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 38.31%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UCB. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 176.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 16,925 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on UCB. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Hovde Group lowered shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company’s core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.